Why Kallen Rejects Lelouch

At the end of the first season Kallen learns that the person behind the mask of Zero was Lelouch all along. Kallen is shaken by the knowledge and finds it hard to believe that the things the Black Knights did were actually noble and not just the actions of a spoiled Britannian student. During the second season Kallen tells Lelouch that she won’t fight for him, that she only listens to Zero. Why? Why is it so important to Kallen that she separates Lelouch from Zero.

Kallen places her trust in Zero but refuses to fight for Lelouch. In my opinion it shows that Kallen is still a child at heart. She finds it hard to believe in a person. Most people that Kallen has placed her faith in have either died or betrayed her. Her father left her mother because he wanted to keep his honor and her mother became a servant who would just bow down in front of people who she was once equal to. Her brother, Naoto was killed in battle. Kallen probably finds it hard to rely on people because everyone she’s ever relied on has left her. This would explain why she could believe in Zero. Zero was a person behind a mask, but Zero was a symbol, a superhero of sorts. Zero is an idea, and ideas can’t be killed, that’s why Kallen can rely on him, because he is more than a person.

When Kallen sees that Lelouch is the person behind the mask the spell is broken. Kallen can no longer see Zero as a symbol but as Lelouch. When she asks if Lelouch used Geass on her it was because she wanted to believe the reason she found herself relying on a person again was because she was being controlled by his Geass. Kallen wants to be independent. This would explain why she refuses to listen to Lelouch as Lelouch but will believe in him and rely on him as Zero.